Date set for ReDigi case, defendant accuses EMI of foul play

MP3 resale website ReDigi – which is caught up in a legal battle with EMI, of course – is reportedly pissed off that the major has stepped in to cut off its supply of artwork and music previews.

As previously reported, EMI, and the wider US record industry, reckons ReDigi, which lets people resell MP3s, and supposedly forces the seller to delete their copy of the digital file after sale, is actually a platform that simply enables individuals to profit from copyright infringement. EMI’s Capitol division is suing the digital start-up, though failed to get a summary injunction against the resale site earlier this month. It was confirmed this week that that case will now go properly to court in August.

Meanwhile, according to Wired, ReDigi has had to stop including artwork next to MP3s being sold on its platform, and is now relying on YouTube for preview clips of tracks, after US-based streaming service Rdio pulled out of a partnership with the resale site, allegedly at EMI’s insistence. Obviously Rdio needs to stay on the right side of the major labels to ensure it still has access to their music for its core subscription-based streaming music service.

Wired quote from a letter written by ReDigi’s lawyer Ray Beckerman seemingly filed with the courts, in which he confirmed Rdio had suddenly stopped providing artwork and previews to his clients. He also claims that was as a result of action by EMI, after ReDigi confirmed where it sourced said content from in a previous court submission. Beckerman: “Apparently, having been denied an injunction, they [EMI] have sought to use extrajudicial tactics to accomplish what they were unable to obtain in a court of law”.

Of course, depriving ReDigi of its album cover jpegs and in-platform previews doesn’t actually stop it reselling MP3s, even if its service will replicate iTunes less as a result of the move. EMI, of course, hopes to put the MP3 resale site totally out of business once this case goes to court this summer.